@ Scotty. Either Mr Jurrah had a right to make …

@ Scotty. Either Mr Jurrah had a right to make a bail application or he didn’t; either he had a right to represent himself or he didn’t. As it was he was not allowed to utter a word. A mockery was made of the process.
That is a separate question to the merit or otherwise of the bail application, where of course his past record would be a consideration. Due process is supposed to be a strength of the the system which we are asking people to respect.

Kieran Finnane Also Commented

“His place”? The place of any defendant prior to conviction is supposed to be equal in the eyes of the law.

A defence lawyer has a job to do, which is to act on behalf of his or her client. In the episode reported the defence lawyer acting for Mr Jurrah was scarcely allowed to get in a word. What she was able to get in was that her client would be pleading guilty. There was no “crapping on” and no proposition that her client was “the victim”.

Recent Comments by Kieran Finnane

How much of our relationship with Aborigines is hypocrisy?I haven’t seen the display at the Maritime Museum but I can imagine why a dugout canoe would be part of such a display if it is presenting an overview of Australian maritime history, for Indigenous watercraft were Australia’s original boats and Indigenous people, the first Australian seafarers.

I see from the museum’s website that it has a substantial collection of Indigenous watercraft (46 objects), as part of its Australian Register of Historic Vessels, which strives to be “the definitive online registry of historic vessels in Australia”. Inclusion of Indigenous watercraft is thus essential.

Stagnant CBD; industrial land, rental shortage; houses hold@ Kylie Johnston. With respect, this is not a ‘media conversation’ but a report from a Town Council meeting open to the public.
Perhaps you will want to take up your concerns with Cr Auricht and Mr Doyle, whose comments are accurately reported.
Kind regards, Kieran Finnane.

To die for country@ John Bell: Dr Nelson’s message about equality is clearly expressed in his words that I have cited, about Australians all being “equal – irrespective of politics, race or religion”.
On reflection, his meaning when he said “they denied their Aboriginality to fight and die for the young nation”, is likely referring to those who enlisted either having found a way around their exclusion from the armed forces on the basis of their race, or having had their Aboriginal descent overlooked. “Denied their Aboriginality” seems to me an unfortunate choice of words to cover these circumstances.
Readers may be interested in further details on this topic in an article on the War Memorial’s site:
https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/indigenous-service/report-executive-summary

No gaol for Peace Pilgrims: sentencePhil, They did indeed suffer consequence, as the article above and the series of reports from the trials make clear. For victimless acts of civil disobedience they were tried under harsh Cold War era legislation, facing maximum penalties of seven years imprisonment. This hung over them for a year.
They were found guilty and were sentenced, proportionately to the nature of the offence and their circumstances. Fines ranged between $5000 and $1250. Considerable penalties for people who live their lives in voluntary simplicity, without substantial income, and in service of those in need.